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Blog Post: Do You Like Your Phone Vibrating?

I must admit that headline is a little misleading. There can be huge value in a (semi) silent method of being notified during appropriate times. I’m more referring to the desire by some to increase haptics feedback on mobile devices. If you think like I do, you must be asking yourself who in the world would want that.

Enough that start-ups are focusing on accomplishing just that. This Venture Beat article on a company called Immersion has been incorporating touch feedback into over 550 million mobile devices since 1993.

Haptics, as I have read, goes back much further than just another word for your device vibrating. The origin of haptics is Greek, referring to any kind of non-verbal, touch-centric form of communication. It can be a kiss on the cheek (in some countries), a hug or a handshake.

So, at first glance, I am not hugely interested in having my mobile device vibrate at me incessantly. That would be the kind of mentality Immersion wants to dispel They believe that can happen with their new Tactile Presence and Integrated Themes product debuting at Mobile World Congress this week. As hardware continues to evolve with our ever changing needs, haptic feedback can be so much more.

It is already happening with updates to Android and iOS. Before, a single vibrate would loudly announce the arrival of a new message or call. Now, vibrations can be customized in strength and variance. Who knows, maybe one day users will be able to get a kiss from their mobile device!

My name is Chris Murman, thanks for visiting my space.
As an IT consultant, I am constantly in search of ways to make the work we do better. This means bringing a lean focus to the products we make, a holistic approach to agile business processes, or an intense focus on the technologies of tomorrow.
This blog is a collection of all thoughts related to those, and many more endeavors. Come participate in the conversation with me!